Saturday 30th October 2004
Scotland Unites for FARE Fortnight
Hampden Park

Show Racism the Red Card, Scotland's campaign against racism in football and society, gathered players and supporters on the 14th October 2004 at Hampden Stadium to kick off their Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) action weeks, October 14-28. Events were held Scotland and indeed Europe-wide to combat the problem of racism.

The SRTRC/FARE fortnight kicked off in Scotland with Tartan Army anti-racist actions around the Scotland v Norway game. Clubs, players and fans were united for an anti-racist day of action at every 1st, 2nd and 3rd division Bell's Scottish Football League fixture the following weekend. This marked the official launch of the campaign in the SFL and SRTRC were encouraged by the response. All 42 clubs in the SPL and SFL, from Glasgow Rangers to Peterhead, took part in the event.

Peter Donald, Secretary of the Scottish Football League said:

"The Scottish Football League clubs are happy to throw their weight behind the Show Racism the Red Card Campaign and hope that their visible participation in the campaign at Saturday's matches help rid football of racism."

In the Bank of Scotland Scottish Premierleague every midweek game on 27 October was to allow the clubs to highlight the progress that had been made since the first SPL Weekend of Action in January 2004:

SPL Secretary Iain Blair said:

"The Bank of Scotland Premierleague remains firmly of the view that racism has no place in football, or elsewhere in society for that matter. We are delighted to be part of events such as this which bring all of football together to tackle racism."

Sadly, last season again saw incidents of racist abuse at Scottish football grounds, large and small. The footballing authorities, police and stewards presence at the launch reflected the work that is being done to ensure the correct procedures are in place to deal with these offences, should they occur again.

With the help of hundreds of organisations, SRTRC distributed 200 000 anti-racist football squad posters to young people throughout Scotland for season 2004-2005, with all 12 SPL clubs, 4 SFL, Scotland men's team, Scotland women's team, and a Scottish women's premierleague select all available for free. The SRTRC annual schools competition continues to grow with over 10% of schools taking part last year. Schools can register for next year’s competition at www.eis.org.uk

Fans organisations from several clubs had been proactive in launching their own anti-racist projects over the fortnight to send out a clear message that racists aren't welcome within their ranks. James Proctor of Supporters Direct, the Supporters Trusts Initiative, commented on his organisation's support for the SRTRC campaign:

"Supporters' Trusts are democratic and community based organisations and the people who are involved in them care deeply about the health of their local community. Individually and collectively we fully support the SRTRC campaign and its anti-racism message. We actively encourage people to come together to ensure that football welcomes all people to participate, regardless of creed, colour or religion."

At grassroots level, ethnic minority teams such as Glasgow ANSAR are also working with SRTRC to ensure there is a truly level playing field for all in society:

Zubair Malik, player-manager of Glasgow ANSAR:

"ANSAR are proud to be an integral part of the SRTRC initiative. The need to break down cultural, religious and ethnic barriers in football and society is a core prerogative of our organization. The only way in which this can be achieved is through constructive dialogue, education at grassroots level and promotion of fair-play in sports."

Roddy McNulty, Campaign Coordinator for Scotland, Show Racism the Red Card said:

"Today shows the level of support there is for the campaign at all levels of football. Over the next two weeks, there will be anti-racist actions involving all 42 professional clubs in Scotland. Scores of ongoing grassroots community projects will be launched, involving ethnic minorities, football clubs, and supporters at the heart of their communities. This is the goal SRTRC are working towards - ongoing anti-racist projects at every Scottish football club, turning words into action to stamp racism out of the game in Scotland, and to harness the high profile of professional footballers to combat the rising levels of racism in Scottish society."

A press photocall took place at Hampden Park on Thursday 14th October. This was attended by players, SFL, SPL, SFA and SPFA representatives, police, stewards, SRTRC, players from the ethnic minority community and Scotland’s national women’s team.